buying a gun i have never shot....NAA Guardian

[c919]

ok im really almost sure im going to buy a NAA Guardian .380 but the thing is, iv never shot one.....

there is no way for me to rent one or test one in any way. so i was hoping for some words of wisdom from people who do have FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE with these little beauties....

is it:
a good investment?
decent in the recoil department?
something that can be trusted with my life?
good for CCW?
worth taking the risk of buying a .380? (.380 ammo is super expensive and really hard to find here in east tn.)

and those sights..... they seem sort of thin and weird. are they accurate/ easy to adjust to?

i would really appreciate any input about the NAA Guardian you would like to share with a potential buyer.

 

[benderx4]

Good Investment? Not particularly - guess it depends on what you pay for it.
Recoil? Mine definitely let me know it was there. Similar to a Walther PPK.
Trust with your life? Mine was VERY reliable. Buy good ammo for it and it should go bang every time. (Easy to clean too!)
CCW? Yes with good leather, but because of it's weight, it can be burdensome as a "pocket" gun.
Risk with a 380? Yes, 380 has become elusive. GOOD 380 will be expensive regardless. (But this is NOT the type of gun you regularly take to the range and put 200 rounds through.)
Overall, I think it's a great little BUG. Had I not gotten a riduculous great deal on a Seecamp 380, I'd still have mine. Good luck!

 

[earlthegoat2]

First of all sight on a pocket 380 should not be worried about. Its a belly gun and sights need only be so accurate. It is however a good investment, way better in recoil than a KelTec or LCP deifintiely can be trusted with your life makes an excellent CCW.

Yes 380 ammo is scarce. Buyer beware.

 

[1SOW]

FWIW: I apologize for not answering your question, but felt obliged to offer some advice.

Don't buy a gun you haven't shot and want to actually use in a potential life or death situation.

 

[dogrunner]

I don't have the .380 version, but I do own and regulary carry the .32...........which is somewhat smaller.........still, the guns are nearly identical otherwise and I've found mine to be both accurate and easily manipulated once you adjust to the DA only mechanism.

Now mine was given to me in used condition as a gift....I sent it back to NAA and they completely re-built and refinished the thing (free!)....even tossing in a spare magazine!......In terms of accuracy, frankly I don't think you could ask for a lot more as it'l do it's part if you do yours.....granted, the sights are minimal but as stated it's a belly gun and larger sights would only serve to obstruct its easily carried and concealable design......

Neat little gun and one you'll tend to have with you.

 

[c919]

ok i guess i should say i have shot many of similar guns, so i can pretty well imagine what this gun will be like (being that i can surmise a decent amount of info from its size, build, caliber, and weight). i have dry fired one, so im familiar with the trigger. its not so much a shot in the dark as it is a shot from from afar.

i suppose that the title of this post kinda made me sound a bit more inexperienced than i am. not to say i am an expert or old timer by any means.

i have owned a kel-tec and a j frame s&w. so essentially i am just wondering about reliability and curious about any perfect track record testimonies or horror stories i should know about.

 

[benzuncle]

c919, there are many gun owners that have bought firearms they have never fired before. Unlike cars, you aren't often afforded the opportunity to "test drive" them. It would be nice if we could.

I bought my NAA Guardian 380 after a lot of research into caliber and brand almost 2 years ago; I guess I was a little ahead of the curve. I had never fired any 380. This was my first carry piece. I carry it loaded with 102gr Remington Golden Sabers. They have never, ever FTF or FTE. At around 900fps they will open to about 5/8in. and penetrate about 8in. I have well over 1000 rounds through it with no problems. I started off with MagTech RN's and shot several other types of ammo with no problems. I settled on the Golden Sabers. I use Golden Sabers as my SD ammo in both of my 45's also.

I carry the Guardian often in a Nemesis Pocket Holster; I carry a spare mag in the off hand pocket. The weight is a non-issue for me. Out to 7yds. the accuracy won't disappoint. It has a long, hard trigger pull but it is consistent. The pull eases somewhat after about 500 rounds. I think that if and when the fecal matter hit the ventilator you would never notice the pull. The DAO pull makes it safe to carry without worry. The fit and finish are very good. The slide does not lock back after the last round in the mag is fired. Sometimes the last casing hangs and holds the slide open; this ticks some people off. I would prefer it did that every time as I can look inside and see what is going on as I replace the magazine and slingshot it home. The NAA 380 has some snap to it. You'll have to deal with that just like any other small 380. I think that the weight does add some advantage there. I have opted for the Hoque Coco Bolo grips and the curved finger extensions that North American Arms sell on all 4 mags to give me a wee bit more to hang on to. Works for me. As I reload my own ammo (Golden Sabers pretty much exclusively now. I stocked up on bullets before the insanity.) I don't have a shortage issue at the moment.

BTW: I also considered a Seecamp because they are such fine firearms, but a number of things got in my way:
I couldn't find one
The difference in price a couple years ago was substancial
I don't care for the Euro-style bottom mag release
They have been known to be picky concerning ammo types
Nonetheless, I would have loved to have gotten my hands on one to at least hold it, and give it a chance to beckon to me.

Good luck with your decision. I thought about parting with my NAA 380 a while back; that lasted about 7 seconds.

 

[bluez4u]

The Guardian .380 (which I have),

Is absolutely the best .380 made.

They are so diserable the used ones, go for a greater price than the new ones.

 

[Dr_2_B]

Is absolutely the best .380 made.

That's subjective and I'm afraid his opinion is not shared by everyone. I owned both the NAA 380 and the NAA 32. Both functioned well, but I certainly wouldn't recommend them over some others.

The recoil wasn't punishing because they're pretty heavy guns. The weight is the biggest drawback for the 380 if you're carrying it in your pocket. On the hip, it's a different story - but in a pocket, weight is more noticeable. However that same weight wasn't able to make it into a pussycat at the shooting range. It still had fair recoil.

I now own a Kel-tec P3AT and it's lower weight makes it more desirable to me. I'd recommend (#1) a Ruger LCP and (#2) a Kel-tec over the NAA. Best of all is the Seecamp, but they're hard to acquire in 380.

If it sounds like I'm badmouthing the NAA, that's not really what I'm trying to do. I liked it - but I chose to change to the Kel-tec.

 

[dogtown tom]

bluez4u: The Guardian .380 (which I have),

Is absolutely the best .380 made.

They are so diserable the used ones, go for a greater price than the new ones.

Where did you hear this?

I used to own a Guardian and I can name several .380's that are smaller, lighter and recoil less. While my Guardian was reliable, it is nowhere close to being "the best".

I will admit the Guardian IS built like a tank, since it weighs as much.








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[c919]

benzuncle,

thanks alots that was a great review and i appreciate you sharing your experience in such detail. thats just what i wanted to hear.

 

[X-Rap]

I have the Guardian in the 32NAA bottleneck cartridge. If I had it to do over I would have just got the 380. They are heavy and I now carry a KelTec and the Guardian rests in the safe. The only trouble I've had was a trigger return spring that broke. I believe it was due to dryfire without the magazine inserted which allowed the spring to flex out of its channel. An E mail to the service dept had a couple new ones in days. The gun would still function but required manual trigger reset.

 

[Phydeaux642]

Don't buy a gun you haven't shot and want to actually use in a potential life or death situation.

Well, if this is the correct way to buy guns then I would still be looking for my first one. There is not one place in my area that rents guns, so, I would be all out of luck. I have a couple of Smith J frams that I bought with out shooting and trust them just fine.

 

[smirnoff a]

I had my Guardian 380 for a few years now. It used to be my carry gun, but was replaced by Seecamp little over a year ago. Recoil on Guardian is substantial and accuracy is only good at a very close range, which is expected of a mouse gun. Sites are really not that important on the pocket gun - that is why NAA offers a carry package, where they shave them off. My Seecamp has none.

The gun is pretty heavy to be carried in the pocket. I carried mine IWB for that reason. As far as Seecamp goes, I alternate between the front pocket and IWB, depending on the outfit I wear. I also on occasion carry Kel-Tec 380.

All of the pocket guns mentioned above were 100% reliable for me. I also own NAA Mini 22 mag, which functions well. From what I hear, NAA customer support is superb. I used to own Walther PPK, which I sold due to consistent malfunctions. I replaced it with Sig P232, which ended up not being 100% reliable either.

Ammo availability should not be a concern as long as you can get a hold of a few boxes with your gun purchase. It is not much of a plinker, so once you do an intitial run to see how reliable it is, you will not be putting hundreds of rounds down the range during your shooting sessions.

As far as buying it for investment purposes, not sure if it will go up in price in relation to other guns out there. For some reason all I see now days on the shelves are the pocket guns. The price for this has not increased in years. I would speculate that the one in 32naa or 25naa caliber would have potential due to being more unique. If these ever get discontinued and the ammo is no longer manufactured, the gun might become a collector item as long as you have plenty of ammo saved up for it.

 

[c919]

1SOW: Don't buy a gun you haven't shot and want to actually use in a potential life or death situation.

well i would probably shoot it extensively before trusting my life to it. but thanks for the tidbit.

 

[logical]

I had one a few years back. I found it heavy for such a small round. The trigger was heavy and gritty (but I hear can be improved). Recoil is fairly sharp for such a heavy gun shooting a small round. I did like the size so I bought a Rohrbaugh R9.....yes twice as expensive but 9mm, about the same recoil, lighter, 100% better trigger and more refined overall.